Shikamaru and Temari - Collection of short stories (T)
by Cafe de Flore
Summary: Short ShikaTema stories. Beware: slight/heavy fluff warning.
1. Chapter 1

**Underdressed**

_Ouch._

His head hurt nastily.

Shikamaru raised his fingers to his face to rub the sleep away from his eyes and proceeded to run a hand through his hair. It didn't really felt like he was asleep at all… And yet his hair was loose. And there was something wet under his head, just at the site where it hurt. _Blood?_

His eyes opened up instantly and he sat up, only now realizing wherever he was laying was a hard surface, and not his bed, and it was cold here. He also figured he was naked. The darkness surrounded him, so he couldn't clearly see what liquid did he have on his fingers, but they seemed darker than the rest of his skin, and it felt like he had a wound on the back of his head… so yeah, blood. _Where the hell am I? _

The only source of light was nothing else but a resemblance of a starlight, coming through a hole of whatever was above him. He crawled closer, inspecting the surface beneath him. Ground, wet, dirty, hard. Rocks. He got closer towards the thin light and some droplets hit his face. _Was that… rain? _As his eyes got adjusted to the darkness he stood up and looked above him. It seems he was in some kind of cave and the only thing reminding of an entrance was the hole above him. At least 5 meters above him. He must have felt down and his head. That would explain his loss of memory… But wouldn't explain why was he naked.

He took another step and his feet hit something warm; he flinched at the unexpected feeling. He looked down in a shock to see a body beneath his legs – pale skin practically shining on the ground. How did he not see that before?

Shikamaru kneeled to get closer, and saw equally naked body of a girl, light hair covering her face that was turned away from him. He didn't need to push her strands away to recognize her, but he did it anyway after turning her face towards him.

"Temari?" He shook her slightly. No trace of consciousness, and yet she was breathing calmly, her heart beating normally – he felt that after placing fingertips on her neck, above the carotid artery.

_Why in the world he was in underground cave trapped with a naked Suna kunoichi? And why he had no memory of how they got here?_

_Wait_… Something did come up. A mission. They were fighting… someone. Just the two of them. Pursuing him in the forest, and then… a black out.

Her skin was wet and cold from the raindrops falling on her body. Shikamaru pushed one arm under her knees and another under her chest, and lifted her up. Pain suddenly panged at his left arm and he bit his lip with constrain, afraid to drop her. He must have hurt his arm while falling, not only his head.

He took some careful steps away from the hole in their prison's ceiling and cautiously placed Temari on the ground that was less wet than where she lay before. She still looked deeply sleeping.

_Maybe they are in a genjutsu? _Shikamaru did a quick release, but nothing changed. No, it was the reality.

He sat beside her and listened. It was as silent as a grave, just like the saying goes, and he worried this might as well be theirs. But surely they weren't alone, someone must have already been searching for them. If they weren't in similar situations themselves. The only sound that disturbed the silence was her rhythmical, gentle breathing, subtly reminding he was not alone in this after all. Placing a palm on her shoulder he felt how cold her skin felt against his fingers; it wasn't much he could have done about this, but he could at least try… He pulled her up so her head was on his lap, her hair tickling his thighs. A bit more, and her shoulders were against his leg. At least some contact to make her a bit warmer.

To think that one day he would find himself naked in the same place with Temari… Well, the reality wasn't as nearly nice as were his dreams. They were beaten up, cold, trapped and amnesic. It wasn't the time nor the place to think of her curves… And yet. Her skin, tanned in daylight, here shone as pale as the moon. The minimal light he was given was enough to distinguish her body parts one from another, and his eyes ran through her body with almost a dreamy look. She wasn't skinny, he never though she would be. She was healthily lean. Her muscles, still apparent, but was covered in some layer of feminine fat, making her fit, yet soft and pleasant to touch – whoever had such a privilege. Her breasts were full and beautiful, and tempting to touch would be an understatement, especially with her nipples hardened by the cold. Waistline, pronounced by round hips and strong thighs, surrounding the most intimate part of her body, which, as far as he could see, wasn't covered in any hair at all.

He turned away. Under other circumstances he would have probably barely forced himself not to touch her alluring skin, not that it was easy now. But now she laid by him completely defenceless. And her face looked like she was peacefully sleeping – an expression so innocent it was hard to believe would ever appear on her usually dissatisfied face. Probably one of the strongest kunoichi he knew, both physically and emotionally – having successfully survived psychologically abusive father, a loss of mother, a fearsome psychotic brother, and still able to maintain love for the latter, still managing to take care of him and her other restless brother. And here she was, motionless in his arms, unaware of where she is, unaware of anything, unable to fight her never ending wars.

She was someone Shikamaru wanted to take care of. She never needed that, but now when she had no means of resistance – he felt he just needed to do that. He already did what he could physically, and the fact that what he felt inside didn't really count made him feel unsatisfied. Incomplete. Without her knowing, it was their moment of intimacy, but nothing really happened, except his own confession to self of how he feels.

After a while she inhaled a little deeper. Her hand twitched, and the next second it repeated his own movements as he woke – her fingers rubbed her eyes, then accidentally touched his thigh. Her hand froze there, just besides her head, and upon opening her eyes she glanced at the side, trying to see what was she laying on. He could see she didn't understand, and he couldn't blame her. Not a typical situation to find yourself in.

Her brows furrowed, finally registering something's not right, and her eyes turned to him. They slowly widened, and she hoisted up and sat, seemingly realizing she was naked the very next second and crouching slightly, placing her hands around herself. Whether in self-defence, or cold, or covering her nakedness – it was hard to say. She pulled her legs towards herself and sat up more comfortably, with a corner of her eye staring at him.

"Hey."

"Where are we? Why am I naked?" With her eyes building up a usual fighting look and serious expression, she glanced at his body shortly before coming back for his eyes. "Why are you naked?"

"It seems we're in some cave. Why – I don't know, I can't remember. I was hoping you will."

Temari fell silent for a while, and he noticed her shoulders lowering down and her arms getting less tense. Whatever did she think when she woke, she was relaxing now, at least a little.

"I can't remember. I only know we fought someone in the forest."

"That's as much as I remember too." He told her, then sighed. He wanted to say how troublesome all of this is, but something left those words hanging on the tip of his tongue.

Temari stood up. His mouth practically dropped open, but he barely made any sound, as she turned her head to raise an eyebrow at his startled expression. He didn't quite expect her doing that.

"What?" She almost smiled. "I'm sure you've already had a chance to look at my body for as much as you wanted, and now you're ashamed to see me naked? That's just weird, Shikamaru."

Her remark left his cheeks flashing red, and he was glad the darkness hid that. But she was right in her every word – he suddenly felt uncomfortable practically getting allowed to stare, while he was been doing that just a while ago without her knowing. He didn't say anything, only stood beside her, still in awkwardness, but she paid no mind, stepping ahead towards the entrance of the cave.

However the step she took turned out to be painful, and she tripped with a muffled moan.

"I must have hurt a tendon in my shin." She uttered through clenched teeth.

"It seems we both were thrown into this place."

"Yeah, I get that. I don't get why we are naked."

"Neither do I."

With her wake from her sleep she was back to being the same woman he knew all along. Despite her bare skin, that didn't influence her a tiny bit, her emotional coverage was back on and she felt as safe as always. Only in that tiny fleeting second just after she woke up he was able to catch someone hiding underneath her masks, someone with slightly trembling eyes and confusion hidden deep inside.

Temari limped towards the hole and looked above; the dim light now shining on her beautiful body even more brightly. She didn't care. "Could you do something with your shadows? Maybe lift me up or grab something from the outside?"

"No, it's too dark in here. I need more light to form a strong shadow."

"Have you checked the surroundings, the walls? Maybe there's some tunnel or something?"

Shikamaru suddenly was ashamed to give her his answer. "No." He knew what question will follow.

And surely, she turned to him surprised and took a good look at his face.

"Why?"

_Because I was taking care of you_ probably wasn't the kind of answer she would have liked to hear. So he didn't say anything and only shrugged his shoulders, as an answer receiving her grunt, as she dipped into the darkness to do the job he didn't.

_She was better when she was sleeping._

In a minute they have checked every corner and haven't found anything – not a hole, not a tunnel, not even a single thing they could have used to get out. It was the time for Temari to finally step back and realize that they were stuck until somebody finds them. With that thought her aggressiveness towards him and anger about helplessness faded; she relaxed and stopped trying to do something, since there was nothing worth the effort.

Shikamaru leaned against one of the walls, sitting on the cold, hard ground. It wasn't the most comfortable place to sit with your naked butt, however standing and wasting energy pointlessly was also not the smartest thing to do. He rested his head against the rock, closed his eyes and practically sighed out the next sentence rather than just saying it.

"What in the world could have happened? I can't remember a single detail about the guy who we fought."

"Well, me neither." He was surprised to hear her voice rather close, and as he opened his eyes he noticed she came closer and stood leaning against the same wall. And her voice now was different, it lost the aggression she demonstrated before. It was nothing more than curiosity and wonder in it, but no trace of protest, of a fight, of anger. "But… I assume we lost that fight."

Shikamaru started laughing. Stating the obvious wasn't too funny by itself, but at the place and time they were in this was a perfect mood booster, especially as she joined him with a silent chuckle. His eyes followed the line of her leg up to her hip, waist, breasts, neck and her eyes, where they met her own look. Partly covered by the curtain of darkness, and providing them both with a barrier that was only figurative and yet cloaked them in some resemblance of privacy.

The next second she ruined that, not that he was complaining. She sat down next to him, carefully extending her injured leg and curling another close to her chest while her arms wrapped around it. Their shoulders touched, most likely on purpose.

"So… what do we do now?" She asked.

"I guess we wait."

"I don't think I have a necessary patience for that."

"It could be your chance of developing it."

"I don't find the atmosphere relaxing enough."

"How may I be of help?"

"Some candles would do."

"Sorry, I have none."

"You're useless." She laughed. Turning her face towards him she carelessly took his hand and lifted it, leaning closer and nestling under his arm and against his chest. His shoulder hurt badly with even the slightest move, but what she did made him stop breathing, not to mention ignoring the pain. "I'm cold, and so are you. Say anything about this, and I will kill you."

She was obviously laughing at him, feeling the way his body tensed at the touch. Her breasts were squeezed against his chest, and one of her arms – wrapped around his waist. If she only dipped her elbow lower, or even as much as took a glace there, she'd find a surprise he rather not have her find. It was awkward as it was. Trying to get comfortable Temari pulled her uninjured leg on top of his thigh and hoisted herself up a little, to his relief getting a little further away from his erection. Her leg bent and her thigh was pinning down his own, her knee now touching his hand that lay here before she even decided to cuddle up to him.

One of his fingers touched her knee lightly. She didn't move. He moved his hand closer, fingertips now caressing her skin and feeling the gentleness. She didn't move. As his hand finally moved up her thigh towards her hip, and back again to her knee, stroking the skin with his palm, her breathing slightly changed. But she still didn't move. His other hand, now placed on top of her shoulders, stroked the side of her arm in the similar fashion, and as a response, her hand, placed around his waist, moved gently against his skin, tickling his waist.

His breathing changed as well. His heartbeat increased, and he was sure Temari could hear that through his chest wall, as her ear was placed directly above his heart. She moved her head, ever so slightly, pointing her nose upwards and reaching up a little, slowly, until her nose tip touched his neck somewhere under the jaw. She inhaled, and exhaled through parted lips – the mere sound arousing him even more. Her hand on his waist moved an inch lower, hitting his erection, but it seems this is what she expected to find – she didn't take back her hand, vice versa – her forearm ended up directly above it, pressing it down, but not just yet really touching.

He sighed heavily, his head moving by its own to meet hers, his chin dipping just a bit lower for him to reach her lips; he already felt her breathing close to his own mouth, and Temari hoisted up a little more, just enough for her lips to brush against his. He let out one last breath, opening his mouth for a kiss and with a millimetre distance between their lips left…

"Shikamaru!? Temari! Are you guys here?"


	2. Chapter 2

**The darkest fears**

_As requested by Anastasia_

Temari opened her eyes quickly at the sound hardly louder than curtains shuffling against the open window. She sat up wide awake since these days it took her no time to shake off the sleepiness in a matter of seconds, and silently walked to the other side of the room.

The breeze, coming in through the gap of the window, did move the fabric covering it, but not that made her rise from her bed. At the darkest corner of the room, from the wooden baby crib a pair of her own eyes silently gazed at her.

She scooped up a baby into her arms, carefully holding his head against her chest, and came back to bed before he started grumbling. Shikadai was a very calm child - he would never cry when he woke up, only shuffle his arms and feet, creating slight noise; and only then if he didn't receive her attention he would start silently grunting, but he was always too lazy to scream. Much like his father - she thought to herself, gently smiling.

Still a little amazed she remembered her fear of not hearing her own child when he would wake up at night, thus not being able to feed him every 3 hours or so. Or her fear of holding him improperly. Or his heavy head jerking back scarily as his weak neck muscles still couldn't do that job.

And now - there wasn't a chance she would be asleep if Shikadai was awake. As if they two were connected via some invisible, magical link that always told one what the other is doing. Temari intuitively knew when he was hungry, or simply lonely. He now fit into her arms as if he and she were two pieces of puzzle, designed for each other. And as he so selfishly suckled her nipple trying to get some milk, squeezing her breast with his tiny hands, so similar to the way kittens suckle their mother - it was apparent Shikadai was hungry indeed. His eyes opened from time to time, gazing intently into hers, a look that made even her shiver inside as it was so persistent. He looked like he knew and understood everything, only he was trapped in an uncoordinated, chubby, hard to control body of a one month old child. Shikadai had her eyes, but everything else was Shikamaru. She was raising a small copy of her lover.

The older of the two Nara's in her bed also silently grunted, trying to wake up. He didn't have to, being a heavy sleeper himself, but usually he would nevertheless. Just like many times before, his hand lazily wandered on her thighs, her belly, still a little flappy and chubby, and took a hold of her hip - partly trying to pull her closer, partly searching for something to hold on and hoist himself up a little until he finally sat next to her. He tickled her skin with his beard while kissing her shoulder, then he rested his head on it and opened his eyes to see his beautiful son, drinking milk from his beautiful wife's beautiful breast. He possessively took a hold of the other, releasing a silent growl, and mumbled."This one's still mine."

Temari silently whispered back. "Of course you don't know how to share, being the single child."

"I think with this one I will have to."

He leaned a little and planted a kiss on Shikadai's forehead. As an answer the baby squeezed her nipple with his toothless gums and she flinched in pain; Shikamaru giggled and kissed her lips before she could say anything - her look was enough to reveal what she thought.

"You're amazing." Shikamaru whispered, and Temari looked down. "He is."

"I meant both of you."

"You don't need to tell _me_ I'm amazing." She silently laughed and gave him with a cocky look; Shikamaru smiled back and again pulled her into a kiss. This time his lips lingered there longer, and as he let out a strained sigh, passion rippled at the lower part of her belly.

"Stop, I have to feed him." And yet her voice wasn't at all angry. Whether it was a child on her lap, or the silence of the night, or her closest family besides her, she couldn't be angry even if she tried. Not right now.

"I think he's full. I will put him back." Temari concluded after a while, lifting him into an upright position for him to burp. By now he almost managed to hold his head by himself, only for a while, but still.

"Wait." Shikamaru stopped her. "Let's sleep together, all three of us."

"Shikamaru.." Temari furrowed her eyebrows almost pleadingly. They have spoken about this for many times now, and everytime he would allow her to have her way as she feared she would hurt Shikadai in her sleep. Temari was unable to understand how it was possible to sleep next to a baby - or with the baby on your chest - a position she found Shikamaru and Shikadai more than once, napping. But now he insisted.

"Come on, lets try." And she found herself having a hard time saying no to that gentle, love-filled voice, the same one that convinced her to say yes, to move to Leaf, to have a child. Decisions she not even once have had to regret.

She laid down on her side, placing their son in between them, and looked at Shikamaru a little nervously. Shikadai was already falling asleep with a full belly, and she knew Shikamaru will join him in no time, but she still felt worried and tense. Yet as her husband rose a hand that gently tucked some stray hair away from her cheek, she somehow was encouraged. It was nothing but one more fear she had concerning mothership and her baby; she managed to overcome them all, so maybe this one will not be any different? Surrounded by two men with who was she completely, utterly in love, she felt as safe as a child in her own mother's arms. And as the sleep rapidly pulled her mind under its cover, Temari decided not to resist it no more, to allow it take over her like she had allowed her men to do the very same thing with her heart.


	3. Chapter 3

**The challenge**

Shikamaru leaned his head against the wall, with little effort to make the impact less hard. For some reason it felt heavy, too heavy for his neck muscles to hold it in an upright position. He wondered why is that. It was surely nothing but a coincidence, but it seemed the thoughts of her made him feel this way. Like his muscles suddenly became weak for no logical reason. A coincidence… Perhaps.

Her body was enticingly… fertile. Yes. Like that Greek goddess, what was her name? Gaya? Her curves were mountains and valleys, her skin was soil - soft, gentle, creamy yet tanned skin that you would expect, no, want to see water flowing there as a river, finding its roots in the mountain and eagerly making its way down to the lowlands. It was seductive. The way her hourglass figure moved made you want to impregnate her. Her body's smell, sweet and pleasantly fresh, with an attractive feral tint made you want to bury your nose the nape of her neck and unite with her. For a second he wondered if he was the only one feeling this way about her. Just for a second, because he realized immediately - surely not.

It was easy to notice the looks of other men and even women as she walked in the room, wrapped in a cloak of sexy self-confidence, awe-inspiring power, radiating lively rays of light. She carried the sun in her blond hair, it had seeped into it permanently and never seemed to plan to leave. In her eyes was the ocean, water, granting you an essence of life. And her skin, skin that she never hid - every centimeter of it was a rich land.

But, unlike Gaia - or whatever her name was - Temari wasn't kind or welcoming. Not for everyone. She could've been the mother of everything, she could have created so much - but she carefully chose not to. Unlike nurturing and loving Gaia, Temari was cruel and harsh. Her body carried enormous potential, but her mind built the walls around it. The mind that was strict, stubborn, confident, sometimes rude or nasty, almost always ironic or sarcastic. It was the best kind of guard for her potential, since her body attracted attention and the need to possess like the honey attracts flies - with her witty brain, ironic mockeries and creative shield of sarcasm she drove them all away. What man would want to feel unnecessary, unneeded, useless? Even unmanly? She could kill your ego with one look. One word, and you wouldn't be able to get it up with her around no more. And no matter what you did or said - she'd always be one step ahead of you, she'd always win. Who would want that, right? No matter how tempting you found her curves - what she had inside her head was simply too high of a price to pay, wasn't it? Too high to even try.

Except for someone who would find such a mind as tempting as that body.

And in even in that he knew he wasn't the only one. She was a goddess, impossible to get. Both her body and her mind was a challenge to anyone willing to accept it. But only a few did. She was _too_ impossible to get - as stupid as it sounds. Some girls act this way to get you interested, hooked, intrigued - and once you are, they slowly open up and let you in. It was a known tactic. But not her, not Temari. She didn't pretend. She was exactly as she seemed to be, she didn't play any game with anyone, she didn't try to achieve anything. She didn't challenge you. She was a challenge. A stone-hard nut, impossible to crack.

So most of the men walked away without even trying, afraid to be rejected, even though they were attracted to her whole. Some were foolish enough to try - and they got humiliated, of course if they were intelligent enough to comprehend that.

Shikamaru never attempted to get her. He never tried. But he also never walked away, never gave up in advance like others.

If you took her challenge - you had already lost. If you didn't - it was your loss too. The only way to avoid a certain loss was not to take and not to deny that challenge, not directly. To be around long enough to form a bond, without ever trying to make a move, and without ever demonstrating your disinterest. Then the bond became a bridge to complete that challenge.

He never intended this. A long time ago he decided he would never be the first to make a move on a girl, to ask a girl out on a date. Or follow her around trying to convince to agree. Too troublesome. He knew he would let the life flow as it does, and knew that someone will get stuck onto him like a fallen branch, floating atop water of a swift mountain spring, gets stuck onto a rock peaking from the bottom of a river.

So he never did anything. She attracted him - surely, but he never allowed that attraction to dictate his moves. Despite how badly he would have wanted that. He knew what would happen. He was observant enough to see the two choices she gave her admirers. But thinking outside the box was useful not only in Shogi, so he chose neither.

That was something new to her.

She could easily put all the men into different categories. They were all so simple, so primitive, their actions - too easy to read. They were boring.

But not him. Shikamaru never really fit into any category she could think of. One time he maybe would've fit into one - but only partly - and the next time it would be a completely different one. He was frustrating.

And yet with such diversity, Shikamaru always seemed to be the most steady person she knew. She didn't figure this out in the beginning, but with the chaos always being a part of her life, she found herself craving for such stability. For an old tree with its roots growing deep into the ground, that stood still in the hardest of storms without a chance of getting broken or uprooted. She needed such a tree to hold on to so she wouldn't get carried away by life's current.

And the way he was with her, the way he looked and the way he spoke - it was impossible to understand him. He seemed so calm and passive - but she couldn't shake the feeling that under all this tranquillity lay hidden complexity. And she needed to see that. To see it all. To see him happy, sad, angry, ecstatic, furious, crushed. She needed to see him in emotional chaos. And thus, without her really noticing when, he became her challenge.

And she provoked him all the time.

Insults, mockeries, sarcasm, irony - surely not a typical way of showing your interest into another person. Occasional flirty smirks were more like it, but after what came before those it had to be quite confusing. And surely most of men eventually would get sick of her never ending mockeries and seemingly zero chance of her ever showing any real signs of affection. She was curious whether he would break and walk away like others. He never did.

So that kiss was her last resort. The idea came to her spontaneously, but it seemed like a brilliant idea at a time. This was what might have pushed his limits, might have pulled him out of his shell of exterior peace. And yet the execution of that plan was suddenly complicated by her increasing arousal, that grew rapidly out of her excitement. When he was so close, a mere thought of what she was about to do excited her in a feral, overwhelming way.

And Shikamaru saw that. He saw some give away in her eyes, and then it was a moment of now or never - before he spoke something that would ruin the plan.

He answered so willingly and passionately from the very first second their lips touched. His tongue seemed to be quite impatient, slithering into her mouth without any invitation. Just like his hands, that pulled her body close to his, hastily squeezing her flesh with a grip that could only mean one thing - he had been waiting for this to happen. His deep breath interrupted the kiss for a second, and as his fingers bravely slid under her clothes, she gasped with shivers running down her skin.

She laughed inside. She won. She broke his shields, and found someone unbelievably passionate, excited, and needy underneath. But what she didn't know that inside he smiled as well. He completed her challenge without ever taking it, and he got the girl without making the first move.

Their eyes met after the kiss - both sparkled with sly looks. Both shone with the joy of victory. Both demonstrated power. Both were darkened with desire.

Both knew they wouldn't stop there.


	4. Chapter 4

**Now what?**

**I**

Shikamaru rested his back against the wall, took a sip of his cold beer, and sighed.

His shoulder still ached a little after a strain during a fight, but he didn't mind. He was where he and everyone else were supposed to relax after the mission or their daily tasks, and he intended to do just that.

He, Choji and Ino came back from an escort mission no more than 2 hours ago, having taken an important lord from point A to point B (Konoha) successfully, aside from the single and relatively easy assault from the expected band of rogues. The only surprise was one of them managing to sneak behind their backs and attacking Shikamaru directly, forcing him to actually use his close combat skills. Anyway, it ended with an uneventful collision of their weapons before the rogue was taken out, therefore as everything went well in the end, Shikamaru decided not to overthink it today and relax in a company of his friends.

TenTen had an idea to throw a party at her place as her parents were both away for a weekend, and team 5 joined as soon as they got back. Even Shikamaru didn't take much of convincing this time, somehow even he felt like hanging out with people today rather than being alone. Perhaps it was a light mood of a well-executed mission that put him in an energetic state where he really did want to party, rather than the usual need for slumber.

The house was filling up rapidly, and looking around Shikamaru could swear everyone was here. Even Sasuke, even Sai, even Shino. Even himself. Naruto, already drunk, has glued himself to his future wife, Ino screamed in unison with other girls, Choji and Kiba had their mouths full of food, and TenTen finally stepped away from the door, having let inside probably the last guest.

He thought she deserved a glass of wine - Shikamaru could only imagine how long did it take to plan a party like this, prepare all the food, though most likely other girls helped, take care of everyone so they'd be fed and drunk… he stepped towards the table and poured a drink. TenTen seemed more of a white wine girl to him, and taking a glass into one hand, and his beer into the other, he turned around. And stopped in his tracks, seeing who was the last guest behind TenTen.

Temari.

Shikamaru turned around once more and filled another glass, this time with red wine, somehow very sure of his decision, and walked towards them.

"TenTen, I think it's time you relax a little too." he gave her a glass. "I hope I picked this right." His eyes darted to a guest from the Sand and her provocative stare. "Temari." He nodded.

While she stayed silent, TenTen was melting over his little gesture. "Thank you so much! In fact I only drink white wine, red one is a little too sour for me." Someone called her from the middle of the room and she gazed over his shoulder shortly. "I think I'm gonna take your advice and try to catch up with every drunk soul here!"

Temari looked stunning. Loose blond wavy hair, red lipstick, red nails, black dress with a cleavage showing just a little, leaving a whole lot to your imagination, ending somewhere above her knees, leaving even more to think about. He gathered himself though, and before he gave her a reason to mock his wandering eyes, he extended a hand with a glass.

Finally she spoke.

"Oh Shikamaru…" Her voice clearly gave away she did find a reason to mock him. "Taking care of everyone, what has gotten into you?"

But she did take the wine, brushing her fingers against his, but paying no attention to that.

He scoffed at her question, then smiled slyly.

"And what has gotten into you to put yourself in a dress like that?"

Her reaction surprised him. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, and she took a second longer to answer, but in the end she raised her chin a little higher and asked, staring directly into his eyes. "What exactly do you think is wrong with my dress?"

Something in her tone alerted him, and the shine of her eyes gave away the risk he put upon himself. A lot depended on his answer to her trick question.

"Wrong?" He did a deliberate pause, watching her reactions. "Nothing."

"Then what is it?"

"You look…" this time the pause wasn't intended. "...beautiful."

"Ooh. I didn't think you'd be able to squeeze a world like that."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "That's one way to say "thank you"..." He half-smiled, taking a sip of his beer, and noticing a nearly empty glass of her. "I see I picked the right drink for you too."

Temari narrowed her eyes. "Don't flatter yourself, Shikamaru." She gazed at him for a second, her lips curving into a small smile, before she gracefully slid past him to greet other people.

Shikamaru was left standing with a suppressed grin and feeling all smut for some reason.

Few beers later, Shikamaru sat by the entrance to the inner yard of the house, chatting with Choji, who looked like he had some splinters in his behind, his face burning.

"Oh come on, don't pretend you didn't like her." Shikamaru teased. "You couldn't take your eyes away from her while me and Ino tried to responsibly begin the escort."

Choji flushed even more, and gulped down some beer. "Well she was pretty! Like you don't know what it's like to find a pretty girl talking to you."

"Mhhh." He only hummed. "So what are you going to do about it?"

"What? Nothing." Choji's eyes darted down.

"But she did invite us for a visit to Hidden Cloud! Looking directly at you…" He sneered, as his friend unsuccessfully tried to hide his face in a glass of beer that was nearly empty.

"Stop taunting me, Shikamaru…"

"All right all right, I'm just saying…" He laughed silently. "She _obviously_ liked you, Choji."

Having heard that Choji muttered something about the beer and disappeared, leaving Shikamaru laugh by himself. Soon after, a full glass appeared by his side, but it wasn't Choji joining him - a girl in a black dress instead.

"Seeing Choji's face when he ran away from you I bet I missed out something important." She gave him a wide smile, much like the one she flashed at him the very first time they fought together.

"Might be." He smiled back coyly, looking at her. Her cheeks were slightly flushed from the wine, but her eyes didn't miss the sharpness. This new look suited her so well - the curls added a bit of girlyness, but the way she held herself gave you no doubts of how much of a woman she was. Excellent poise, back straight, thighs on top of each other. It was still weird seeing her without a fan on her back, but despite what she wore - was it a cocktail dress or a uniform - she bended the prejudice of her attire, appearing not so girly, not much of a tomboy, but simply a tough woman.

"Let me guess… from his reactions and your teasing smile, I bet it's girl related… Choji run away while you were laughing, it means that he likes someone… Perhaps someone new? Adding that you just came back from the Hidden Cloud…" She smiled widely as he tried to remain calm and unsurprised.

"You sure notice a lot. It almost seems you spent the evening watching us rather than minding your own business…"

"After the stare you gave me when I came here, I can watch you for as long as I want and you can't really say anything." Temari raised a cocky eyebrow and inspected his reaction.

"Did you notice my injury then?"

She scanned him up and down, noticing a T-shirt that didn't hide his chest muscles, and a shirt that unfortunately hid his biceps, but no noticeable signs of some kind of an injury.

"If I can't see it, you don't have it."

"Tsk… you're so cold hearted."

"Won't deny."

"I strained my shoulder today."

"How?"

"During our mission we were attacked by a bunch of rogues. I caught 4 of them with my shadow and while Choji was taking care of them and Ino probed the mind of the 5th one, there was another one behind our backs and he charged me. So I had to let go of the binding and kind of twist my body around to counterattack…" Seeing her snicker made him shut up. "Really funny."

"Sorry, it's just that… I guess you're so unused to close, dirty battle that you find something like this worth a story."

He rolled his eyes. "My pain is not enough to entertain you, huh? That's new."

"Oh I'm sure someone besides me here would gladly lend you a sympathetic ear."

"And someone else here would probably do a better job of entertaining you."

"Are you speaking of someone in particular?"

"Perhaps. Do you want me to..?"

"Maybe I do."

"Alright." He secretly gazed around the room. "Kiba could barely pull his eyes away from you for the whole evening. Now he's successfully getting drunk and I bet he will make a move on you soon enough."

Temari laughed. "No way. He doesn't have the guts, he always held his distance with me."

"We will see about that."

"Okay. Anyone else?"

"You could get Lee with one movement of your finger. He always admired you."

"Pfffft, no thanks."

"Sai."

"Sai doesn't seem very into girls… or anyone, in fact."

"Perhaps, but that didn't stop him from glimpsing at your cleavage from time to time."

"Well well, so now it seems that _you_ have been watching me this entire time rather than minding your own business."

"You know you're an eyecatcher." He looked at her, itching to ask whether she had a problem with that, but her small smile, probably intended as a silent "thank you" stopped him from further provocations. "How long are you here?"

"Arrived yesterday, leaving tomorrow."

"On what matters?"

"Sorry. Classified." She smiled innocently, and Shikamaru burst into laughter because of her expression.

"Okay. What's new in Suna?"

"Absolutely nothing. Konoha?"

"Same."

As the silence filled the small distance between them, both stared outside where the faint light of the stars lit the small, but pretty garden with artificial springs, water swirling over small stones.

"Wanna go outside?"

Temari nodded. She was thinking of offering the exact same thing.

"How are you? After the war and... " she stopped briefly, lightly touching some greenery with her fingers. "...your loss?"

Shikamaru took a while before finally answering. For once he really thought about it rather than just blurting out that he was okay.

"I'm coping... But my mother is having a hard time. She'd never show that or say anything, but I know her well enough she is barely holding on. I even thought of moving out after the war, but now I simply couldn't leave her alone."

Temari carefully, gently dipped her toes into the cold water of a tiny river, and shook her feet like a cat would shake a wet paw before she looked up at him. Even in this dim light he could see compassion in her eyes, something he always thought surprising to appear in that face.

"She's not made from porcelain."

"I never said she was."

"But you underestimate her, and overestimate yourself."

"Why do you say so?" He stopped and turned to her, really interested in her answer.

Temari stepped closer, and took a good, deep look into his eyes. Something inside him trembled for a microsecond.

"No matter how grown up you seem and how many times people will say your biological age doesn't meet your inner one, it's way too soon for you to be over it. Despite your experiences or your age, when it comes to your parents you are nothing but a child. So you shouldn't pretend to be okay and to be over it. At least not in front of yourself. And as for your mother… Well you'll just have to trust me when I say she will be alright. She will take not only of herself but of you as well."

"Are you talking with me as if I'm a child to emphasize your point?" He raised an eyebrow, unsure what to think.

"No. It's because I've been through this."

His defensive attitude that called for snappy come back now left him ashamed of what he just blurted out. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Temari smiled somehow sweetly. "It was long ago." She looked around once more and crossed her arms, hugging herself. "I think I'll go inside, it's getting a little cold."

Shikamaru nodded, and continued to stare into the sky where the stars were being hidden rapidly by approaching clouds, his thoughts getting lost in them.

If Temari felt a little affected by alcohol few moments ago, these minutes outside in the cold air helped her sober up. She looked around the room at the people having fun, drinking, dancing, playing games, flirting, and just as she decided to pick a glass of water instead of alcohol, Kiba approached her.

"Hey, Sand princess."

Temari raised an eyebrow at such call, and withheld a scoff that emerged because Shikamaru was hilariously right in his prediction.

"Can I invite you for a dance?" He leaned a little over her, forcing Temari to instinctively lean back, and Kiba used the opportunity to grab her by the waist, pretending to hold her steady, but actually looking for some balance for himself. From up close he was reeking of alcohol, his eyes clouded and even though he had a piece of boyish charm, Temari pushed him away. "Maybe not this time."

"Oh come on, Temari…" He was persistent, and gently grabbed her hand, pulling. "Just one dance." He smiled.

"Let go, Kiba." Her voice got more serious. She never had an unlimited patience, and certainly not now. However, even though she didn't want to make a scene here this wouldn't stop her from teaching this dogboy a lesson he wouldn't forget.

Since Kiba's drunk mind really couldn't take in the seriousness of the situation, and Temari's expression already alerted trouble, Sakura came to save the situation. "Kiba, leave her alone. Let's go sit, huh? I'll bring you some water." She winked to Temari, taking him away, and she nodded grateful.

A little regretfully Temari decided to go back to her hotel. Even though this was supposed to be a huge and serious party, somehow her mood faded and as much as she wanted to get a little more drunk and have some fun, she knew it won't happen. She looked around the room, noticing busy chatting or flirting girls, laughing boys, and realized it will be much easier to sneak out without saying goodbyes and avoiding the pleas to stay. There was one person though she wanted to at least wave to, but Shikamaru was nowhere to be seen.

She went down the corridor towards the exit where her shoes and jacket were, and reached for a light switch. She pushed the button and got startled, seeing she wasn't alone there.

"Why are you sitting in the dark?" her voice was almost accusing.

"I'm not sitting, I'm putting my shoes on." She heard him talk through a smile. Then Shikamaru proceeded to stand up and looked at her a little mockingly. "Did I scare you?"

"You must be kidding me." She raised an eyebrow. "You're the last one I would get scared of." A tiny, innocent lie.

"I wonder if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

With mere words Temari felt her cheeks blush for a reason she couldn't name. However she was glad the light in the corridor was dim, and slipped her feet into her shoes, having found a reason to look away. "Who knows."

"You're leaving too?"

"Yeah." She put on her jacket and buttoned it up.

"Why?"

"Don't feel like partying any more. You?"

He thought for a second. "I guess I could say the same."

As they stepped outside, cold wind suddenly blew from the side, urging Temari to wrap herself in her thin jacket tightly. She was surely underdressed, and stepped towards the street in a hurry.

Behind her she heard a zipper sound and glanced at Shikamaru, seeing him sliding out of his jacket. He came over and threw it on her shoulders, leaving himself to stand in the wind in much lighter clothing. "I'll walk you."

"You don't need to…" She protested, but his expression seemed too decisive, very unlike his lazy go-with-the-flow demeanour.

"Let's go." He interrupted, and she didn't have a chance to reply as she would have been speaking to his back, her words lost in the wind.

He walked with his hands in his pockets, shoulders down, as if he wasn't cold one bit, but Temari increased her pace for the sole purpose that stupid boy wouldn't get sick the next day.

The place she was staying wasn't very far away from TenTen's house, but in this weather it took some walking and by the time Temari could see the shining sign of her hotel, her fingers clutching his jacked were ice cold. Just as it seemed the weather couldn't get more nasty, it began raining - at first slowly, with big, heavy drops and then within the matter of seconds it was pouring like in a shower.

Half laughing, half annoyed they increased their pace until they were both running and racing each other to the wall of the hotel where they'd be safe both from wind and the rain.

Shikamaru allowed her to reach the finish line first, and leaned against the wall besides her, where the roof hid them from the rain. He took in cold air, trying to regain his breath. What he exhaled came out as white vapour, instantly melting into nothingness in the rain.

He looked down at Temari - her wet hair, some strands sticking to her face barely lit by the light of the hotel sign. Despite being hid in the shadows, he did see her bright smile.

"Thanks."

Temari pulled one arm out of his jacket, brought it behind herself and pulled out another arm, the move making her lean towards him. Their eyes crossed that second. It felt like an accident. One look was enough - it was in her shining eyes, and in her slightly parted lips - and he knew what has to happen.

He never grasped the jacket. Instead his hand went up to her face, and his lips touched hers.

Very carefully, as if completely amazed, his fingers brushed her gentle skin, and mouth pressed her soft lips, tasting the sensation, slowly, as if afraid to make one wrong move and to ruin this. In the back of his mind he probably realized what was happening, but the operating part of his brain was drowning in this experiment and the unknown, new emotions. He felt her hand slowly slide up to his neck, but the move wasn't threatening or pushing; her body moved an inch closer to his and she inhaled sharply through her nose, without breaking their contact - and with her response his body was suddenly on fire.

His fingers slid into her hair and pulled her closer, his body earning to push her against the wall; involuntary breath escaped his lungs and just for a second he pulled away to inhale, deeply. Her hand sneaked at the front of his neck, her forehead resting against his, nose against his cheek. Ever so gently, she pulled her lips away, but lingered in the moment, breathing deeply. He could feel her words on his cheek.

"I think I'd better go."

After a moment of silent disapproval he hummed - "Mhmm." - his answer still sounding more like a disagreement.

That low, husky voice of hers kept ringing in his ears over and over again that night.

**II**

Temari sat by the round table with people already gathering, nodding greetings to every one of them and getting back at the papers in front of her. The preparations of the upcoming chuunin exams, precisely planned and thought-through were both in her head and on the report she prepared, and she was ready and excited to present these to the newly founded Training committee with representatives from every hidden village. There were some new faces in the room, reminding everyone of the war - the war they won, but not without losses. However, there also were a few familiar ones, some of them probably had a new scar of two, but they represented that Allied Nations was an object worth protecting, thus resuming the shinobi training and resuming the exams was the next logical step.

Half of the chairs were still empty and they all patiently waited for the rest of the people to gather. A chair on her left was still vacant, and for as long as she could remember, this place would always be taken by Konoha's representative.

Temari couldn't deny the thought of Shikamaru made her heart jump, despite some time has passed after what happened between them. She wondered if he would come or Konoha will send someone else; and if he will appear - will he join and sit by her like he always did or rather choose to maintain a distance.

And there he was, walking through the doors the next second.

Strangely enough, Temari thought he looked really handsome - something she didn't really pay attention to earlier, but now - as he was slowly approaching - she took note of his manly, confident walk, dark hair and dark eyes fitting so well with the face that reminded her more and more of Shikaku with passing years. Her prediction turned out to be right, and Shikamaru gradually reached a chair next to her, shortly glanced, said hi, and sat down, the movement sending a faint scent of his perfume to her nose; his rolled up sleeves nicely revealed his arms, and his fingers were laced together right in front of his chin. Several-days old stubble framed his lips, and his expression together with the whole demeanor shone mystery.

However suddenly he turned his eyes to her, maybe only now noticing her stare, and his look softened, lips curving into a smallest smile that together with the shine of his eyes signaled her something she couldn't simply ignore. With a mere look a shiver run through her skin, invisible hand squeezed her throat, and something pierced her insides, leaving a tingling in her pelvis.

She forced her eyes away, now unable to return the smile, and gladly welcomed another member who just entered. Only two now were missing, and Temari gazed down at the papers in front of her. She knew them by heart, but tried to read a line or two just to pass the time. However not a single word she read reached her mind, it felt like her brain was floating somewhere in the space. Gradually a flush took over her cheeks and with a rapidly beating heart she turned over to the next page, too aware of him next to her, to afraid to glance at that man again.

And just as she thought she will be able to get a grip, Shikamaru moved. She didn't even have to look, she saw him in her peripheral field of vision, the way he leaned in his chair and rested an arm on the table, grabbing a pencil to play with. Bored of waiting he silently sighed, and that sound was enough to cause another flush of hormones in Temari's body. It came like a wave, rinsing over her from her head to her toes, making every single muscle of her body feel weakened, affected, _attracted_. Almost annoyed for what is happening she glanced at him, wishing she could accuse him of some ninjutsu he did on her, but completely calm he rolled and twisted the pencil, and that sight - his dark figure barely 40 centimeters away - caused another wave. She inhaled deeply.

To make matters even worse he turned his head to her. "How many are we missing?" He then continued to look closely, undoubtedly noticing something's happening with her, as her mind gave another _mental orgasm_ with the sound of his voice.

"One." Her voice was husky, and she heard that as well as he did, flush again reappearing on her cheeks. Temari cleared her throat, and this time more confidently repeated. "Only one, and we will start."

Even thinking of an answer to this simple question was a challenge to her clouded mind, and seeing his mouth curve ever so slightly into a playful smile was more than she could actually handle. She turned away, took a deep breath again - slowly, hoping to stay discreet - and silently sighed; despite that the weakness held her muscles as her heart pounded in the chest loudly.

The last member came in, and Temari had no other choice than to handle herself. She stood up, aware of a slight tremble in her hands that anyone would have addressed to stage fear, but only she knew the truth, and perhaps the person to the left suspected. That smirk he couldn't shake away during the whole meeting betrayed his amusement, while Temari did her best to ignore it and continue working through the matters of the upcoming exam.

Finally after everything has been settled most people left while others stayed for a short chat or for introductions; Shikamaru was one of those not in a hurry to leave, and he sat still in his chair not even trying to hide he was waiting to be left alone with her.

They exchanged looks over the shoulder of one member she talked with, and anticipation grew inside her second by second. Temari said her goodbyes and farewells, told a few the best places in Suna to stay or to eat and one by one everybody left.

Everybody, except him.

She took a deep breath, and turned around. A little surprised she found him now standing, leaning against the table. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears.

"You did everything perfectly." He paused, eyeing her, and just as she wanted to open her mouth to thank him, he was faster, and she was more than glad he didn't give her a chance to speak for what came was a mockery. "Don't understand though why you were so nervous." And that _smirk_.

Without her ever saying anything he stood up and walked over to her; if his movements seemed so slow previously now he moved in a flash, his face appearing mere centimeters away from hers. She had to admit, the only remedy that could effectively take away the tension inside her stood right before her eyes, but she still tried her best to resist that temptation.

On the other hand, Shikamaru didn't. His fingers slid carefully on both sides of her waist, pulling her closer. She closed her eyes but gathered all of what she had to place her hands on his chest and push him away rather than throw them around his neck. Despite that, his lips got closer to hers, and she turned her head away slightly.

"No." That was a weak no. "We shouldn't."

His hands took a hold of her head, his mouth now a few millimeters from touching hers, and stopped moving, freezing in an unbearable moment, until finally he whispered. "Tell me one reason why and I will stop."

She couldn't move, a familiar weakness creeping onto all of her muscles; she could barely breathe for air between their faces seemed thick and heavy; her mind was dazed and exhausted by fighting her feelings for the last hour. Of course she couldn't think of any reason now, she couldn't think anything else than _he was being unfair_.

Shikamaru smiled. Next second she felt his lips on hers, again.

* * *

Tried my best to portray the tension of that accidental kiss you probably shouldn't have allowed. You tell me if I succeeded!

Best wishes,

Cafe


End file.
